“I joined the Council’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs in 2016, and this is my second post here. In my first post I had the unique opportunity to be responsible for the negotiations on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the main programme of NextGenerationEU, the post-pandemic recovery plan.

In my current post in the Budget and Cohesion Unit, I am in charge of the budget heading dealing with the Union’s external action, and as a result I was also fortunate enough to be responsible for the negotiations on the EUR 18bn macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine for 2023.

Before coming to the Council, I worked in DG FISMA at the Commission, and before that I worked at the European Parliament, where I had the chance to support the negotiations on the so-called six-pack and two-pack (the Stability and Growth Pact and the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure).

In sum, while I don’t work as a hardcore economist, my job does require the thinking, the knowledge and the type of analysis that an economist’s work does. Having a handle on the figures and being able to interpret them is always a valuable skill to bring to your work. And as you can see, you can switch institutions as and when it suits you, which also enriches your growth and your work – particularly, for example, during negotiations. I’m never bored!”